the trellis restaurant

tourist trap. tourist version of local fine dining, over priced have had much better for less.

good desserts, bad meal. the trellis has been my favorite restaurant for years but no more. the service stinks! the last few time we went we literally sat for 15 or 20 minutes to get our drinks ordered. the staff is mostly college students and they do not seem to be very informed about the menu. the menu was changed a few months back and the food does not taste the same ( i *believe* a new owner took over). the meat is dry and unseasoned. the water was warm and served without ice. when i asked for ice i was looked at like i was crazy. the soups continue to be good as d0 the desserts. if you must go, i would skip the meal and go straight for dessert.

we have visited for lunch on a few occasions. good service, excellent food with nice portions. reasonably priced with good wines available.

a little pricey, but the sandwiches are huge and overflowing. can't comment on the drinks or higher end food, but sandwiches are great

lack of seasoning. i started out with a bloody mary, which tasted like tomato juice and vodka. there was absolutely no seasoning or other flavors in the drink. my boyfriend ordered the pork and bean soup, which had absolutely no flavor and resembled watery broth. he also had a pastrami sandwhich which also lacked flavor. i am a pescatarian and they did however offer me a special item that was not on the menu. a grilled salmon salad, but again the fish had absolutely no seasoning and/or flavor. we did order a cheese plate for an appetizer which was great, but i think it's pretty hard to mess up a cheese plate. our waitress was obviously very new and knew nothing about the menu. would not go here again especially since it's a bit pricey.

good food/service. we had the steak entree and the duck entree. both were excellent with a nice portion. we finished the evening off with the death by chocolate signature dessert and were not disappointed but had trouble walking at that point!

nice for cocktails and appetizers, but skip the entree. we were excited when we saw marcel desaulnier's name, but trellis definately disappointed. we liked the roasted red pepper soup. the crab stuffed trout was very dry. dessert was okay; the icecream was really the best part.

not bad, but i hoped for better.... my wife and i spotted trellis and we knew we had to stop. we've seen their pastry chef numerous times on food network and so we assumed the place had to be good. we were seated quickly (not bad for a friday evening) even though it was pretty full. the server was very knowledgeable and welcoming. the menu was pretty decent, the prices are right at the four-dollar-sign range. this rather surprised my wife and i as the inside of the restaurant wasn't that nice...it was more modern, almost a "dated" modern (perhaps it was remodeled 10+ years ago?) that i wouldn't have expected from a place serving a menu with prices like that. i also noted a lot of kids being quite noisy and at one point, two little ones chased each other around some of the tables! i have young kids and am very understanding of kids being noisy...but when i'm dropping $125 for food and $50 for the babysitter, i'd like to be somewhere that's a little quieter than my own house! the food itself was unspectacular. nothing was bad, by any means, but for the price, i think we could have gotten a better plate of food elsewhere. we did get the death by chocolate cake, and it was pretty spectacular. i grew up in a bakery and i like chocolate...so i was very happy. not the best chocolate cake i've ever eaten, but really, really close. it was good (and big) enough where i took the leftovers home to finish them over two more days! overall, the experience was good, but if you're looking for someplace that serves either really great food (other than dessert) or has really nice ambiance, you'll probably want to go somewhere else.

well.... visiting williamsburg, our children stayed with friends and we had an adult night out. after strolling down duke of gloucester street we finished our evening at the trellis.

we, of course, had reservations. although we were still made to wait close to 25 minutes before being seated. once seated, we were given menus which i felt were slightly limited in the choices. the silverware as well as glasses set at the table were covered with spotty film and looked unclean. i expected more of a place which considers itself to be "upper crust". i ordered the grilled beef tenderloin steak which came with tiny green beans, lyonnaise potatoes (mashed) and the cost for this meal was $30.00. for a salad to be included with my meal would be an extra $6.00. the tenderloin was delicious, the beans were overcooked and the potatoes luke warm.
beverages other than wine are not listed on the menu so you are unaware of the cost.

my spouse and i dined for a cost of $100.00 for two. i feel there are other places of better quality, presentation and value. the trellis is well known, but better not to rest on your laurels with a reputation that was.